Self propelled vehicles having ground engaging wheels and being capable of operation on both land and in water are well known in the art. Such vehicles are most often seen nowadays as sightseeing vehicles whereby vehicle passengers visit sights on land before the vehicle enters the water as part of the sightseeing experience. Many of these sightseeing amphibious vehicles are based on the original GMC DUKWs from the early 1940s. However these vehicles are becoming increasingly obsolete due to outdated technologies. While many operators continue their attempts to modify the original DUKW design, it is becoming increasingly difficult and uneconomical to do so while complying with the essential regulatory standards for operation. In particular, it has been a great challenge to upgrade the existing DUKW design to meet the United Kingdom regulations for buoyancy reserve (i.e. 110% buoyancy) without adversely impacting on the safe operation of the vehicle. Known methods to provide additional buoyancy reserve include spraying or installing foam into otherwise empty air containing voids or compartments within the hull of the vehicle. In practice these methods have proven to be deficient in a number of ways. For example in one case an attempt to meet buoyancy reserve regulations by packing foam into the hull of a DUKW was insufficient with the consequence of the vehicle sinking in an accident, and in other case the proximity of foam to moving parts caused overheating and fire.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved amphibious vehicle.